Gov't reaffirms it will sell ex-lab island off NY

[August 30, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The federal government is reaffirming plans to sell Plum Island, though environmental regulators and some lawmakers say there's not enough information about the effects of selling the animal disease research site off Long Island.

The General Services Administration and Department of Homeland Security issued what's called a "record of decision" on Thursday. The document marks one of the final steps before a sale.

Congress voted in 2009 to close the laboratory. It opened in 1954. Sale proceeds would go toward moving the research to Kansas State University.

A GSA environmental study in June suggested homes might be built on the island. Environmental groups want it to become a nature preserve. Some members of Congress want to stop the sale.

The island is 100 miles east of New York City.

[Associated Press]

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